DS18 3500W Mini Monster Amplifier Review and Amp Dyno Test

[@wal]

DS18 FRP-3.5k Full Range 3500W Mini Amplifier DS18 Website: ds18.com/collections/mobile-1-channel-full-range DS18 Enhanced Bass Remote: ds18.com/products/bkvtr DS18 Amps on D4S: lddy.no/1k2ty SMD's Review of the 5000W DS18 FRP-5k: kzbin.info/www/bejne/npfao5KFpM6IjNk _Note: Amp was sent from DS18 for testing, but video is not sponsored by DS18. DS18 paid a fee to have the amp tested and shown in this video but all content was created by Williston Audio Labs without input from DS18 and we show features, tests and give our honest feedback_ *TEST BENCH EQUIPMENT* SMD / D'Amore Engineering Amp Dyno (AD-1): is.gd/wccad1 XS Power D1400 Batteries - amzn.to/2BPFCKW XS Power PSC60 Charger - amzn.to/2CHGcfs Fluke 1000A AC/DC Clamp Meter: amzn.to/2Rw5WDA Handheld Dyno AMM-1: is.gd/wccamm1 My Favorite Precision Screwdriver Kit: amzn.to/3yAaPmn _DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase_

[@derekborow4121]

This isn't a out this video, but could you recommend a stand alone, plug in your wall, home theater subwoofer amp, as mine just died, but would have to spend over $1000 to get an equal sub now days. I'm looking in the 4-500 watts rms range. Either a plate amp or anything else

[@wal]

@@derekborow4121 I tested a couple from Parts Express in this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqTEiYSAlJpmiJI

[@jcruz2010]

@@walyou need to do dynos on all POWERUS IS THE BEST AMP EVER MADE PERIOD…. But its expensive too

[@meade916]

great video as always!

[@wal]

Thanks man! I’ll link your vid in the description and pinned comment (for the 5kW version) 👌

[@MrDopey32]

I really like the finish on this amp Bid D. Also really liked both tests given by you and Steve. You're both the only guys I truly trust in these amp dyno's. Great review!!

[@felixhousecat2566]

It was because of you i got back into the car audio scene. I got 2 jp amps because of your dino tests. just wanted to thank you for all you do. much love!

[@philipeli1192]

MY jp3 has turn off thump! Wish bigd tested this!

[@theone148]

same here bro.. because of Big D, i am back on the audio scene.. This time as a grown up, way more money to play with, and a lot more brains, I did everything right and got good equipment, and my sound is amazing . Thanks Big D !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ABUNDANCEandBEYONDATHLETE]

You upgrade the batteries to Lifepo4 yet or similar?

[@ehrenkrause9861]

3:51 Good Lord. Now you got a full-blown sub amp that'll fit in your glove box 35 years later I still love my old school stuff 😆

[@wal]

Crazy I know

[@ksavage681]

@@wal Ten years from now, you'll be able to have a sub amp with just an app. LOL

[@grandam]

​@@ksavage681🤣🤣🤣

[@raymo6795]

...me too....I am always disappointed to see these 3500 watt amps....for a car interior...feels a bit excessive. I love Big D , but this is of no interest

[@AshyLarryTM]

Absolutely!!!

[@TheKeymaster316]

I like that they're shrinking these amps. I told my daughter I may put an amp and sub in her car and I like the small footprint on these mini amps. And your tests show us which one's are legit and which one's aren't. Always appreciated.

[@evilinside5984]

@WillistonAudioLabs- Great idea, to put the Tee-shirt over the port, to give us all a better visual effect, these things make for a great video, thank you Big D!

[@Carl_Jr]

You always do a great job thoroughly testing these amplifiers. Thank you for that. 👍

[@TheXand13]

i got one! is really powerful! Impressive

[@RobertDeFreitas-q5r]

gotta be honest, i didnt think itd put out that kind of power. and im a jp amp owner.....good job d4s. thats really impressive. thank you wal for all of your kick ass videos. been a subsciber for many years now.

[@bobbyackerson4125]

It's not a D4S amp, it's a DS18 amp........

[@RobertDeFreitas-q5r]

@@bobbyackerson4125 my bad.

[@Willspecgarage]

love your work, brother! keep them coming, gotta inspire these youngsters how we do things.

[@B4evrtru-26]

3500 WATTS? dude ds18 making some BANGER products these days

[@sir404]

Bruh it don't beat like dat

[@jaydawg4065]

Always love watching your videos. What a beast of a little amp! Your tests sound good on my two 18 inch Eminence home theater subs!!!

[@murrayshekelberg9754]

What a little beast. Not something for my current setup but could see a lot of uses. I can imagine all the stunt walls these will power. Absolutely amazing thinking back to my 50w Fosgate Punch amps back in the day how far things have come and the price points really are good.

[@thomasj.kappjr.929]

Wow so small and a clip light on the amp and remote I'm impressed and haven't got past the introduction yet @ 3:49

[@shivaramsubhag2362]

Men appreciate your vids, is due to these information is how I purchase majority of my music

[@iscruz7769]

Would love to see a test on their new ION line of amps. These are the right size for motorcycle audio! I currently have 2 1600.4 and I love them.

[@dlcarburetor]

For the size and money I'd say this little amp is impressive. Like big D said, you got to have the power to make power. I'm not upgrading my electrical for a while so I'll stick with my little 1k.

[@thomasj.kappjr.929]

I always watch till the end love the extra test

[@Van1018s]

DS18 does not consider this a sub amp. Clearly the crossover is geared towards mids/tweeters. Nice power. Looks to be good quality. Basically 10 cents a watt. 👍👍

[@Brandencarroll1]

Your top picks for Amazon 8k sub amps? Big boss 8 looking good to me

[@ZDemon340]

What a beast in disguise! At first I assumed the thermals would be high but it seems the fans do the trick. Amazing power from this 'little' amp! What was the efficiency like? Musta been decent since thermals were good...

[@nunyabizznizz7326]

me*.... *sees fuse rating, goes instantly to big dummy math 💪

[@Aaron48219]

2:38 *"1 OHM MINNUM"* 😂 D4S still killin it though, despite bad translation.

[@jeanious2009]

Leave it to the Chinese to write up the manuals/specs.

[@Pivot_Media_TV]

I don't trust them if they can't even spell

[@BASSstarlet]

That amp in the future maybe will become collectors item!

[@JasonWW2000]

@@Pivot_Media_TV Most Americans can't spell either, so... Lol

[@Pivot_Media_TV]

@@JasonWW2000 idk about most but I’m willing to bet if you were putting out a product like an amplifier you would spell minimum right? Lol

[@justinvanburen8259]

Another great video!! Thanks

[@Anthony.Tsopurashvili]

what a true little monster

[@alfredm3785]

Could you do a teardown of your amp dyno? I really want to see how it works

[@kylevanwinkle2081]

Works the same way a battery tester works. Just a load bank of resistors with different relays to switch Ohm loads and sensors to read voltage, resistance, and amperage. Volts(ac)=sqrt(watt×ohm) and other ohms law formulas

[@flsabvb7578]

Great video my friend 💪

[@OldManBadly]

The other thing is that in all honesty, the "miss" at 40hz isn't really a big one, to the point of not being truly noted by the ear listening to it. It takes a lot more than a few watts to make a difference in volume (except for those doing sound drags, different game), So a full range amp almost making it's rated power at the extremes of it's range is pretty awesome, and the differences wouldn't register in most people's ears anyway.

[@holeshotinspectionllc2412]

Not one regret, like not even one letter😂... Appreciate the content.

[@deathred3144]

If the amp is specced at 1 ohm, and we saw the 1 ohm tests, whats the 1.33 ohm test for at the very end of the clip?

[@JasonWW2000]

Just extra video I guess.

[@deathred3144]

@@JasonWW2000 dont get me wrong. Big fan of the channel. Only reason im confused is, the end of the clips is where he normally pushes the hardware beyond specs. Thats my favorite part. :-)

[@rubenavila8012]

Love the video keep them coming

[@MRheavyweight]

What I want to know is how long in terms of mins or hours will this run max power BEFORE going into heat or protection?

[@sir404]

I just burnt up my audiopipe yesterday 1800 class d mono. I replaced it with the 3.5k and so far the audiopipe beat way harder. I still gotta get it fine tuned tho

[@geeccheyboigeechieboy2137]

Is this amp good for mids and high

[@JohnDoe-mx1sq]

Wonder if we'll ever see surface mount transistors in a big power amp

[@r3d-1truth17]

Hey Derek, thanks as always. I want to know, after watching probably more than 100 of your videos, what is the most efficient amp available? I know it’s going to be a class-D amp, but who gives the most power, per channel, using the least (most efficient) amount of juice? Cheers

[@wal]

As I’ve measured I believe the DC Audio 3.5k and Crescendo BC3500’s measured the highest but the Fluke wireless clamp isn’t exact science in these tests. The new KICKER Warhorse 3600 got over 82% efficient at 1 ohm which is right up there also

[@JasonWW2000]

I'm not sure why efficiency is so important to you, but if that's what you're looking for try to get a large amplifier that can run at a higher ohm load like 4 Ohm or maybe two. That's where they are most efficient. As the amplifier goes down in impedance the efficiency also drops. You would be much better served looking for efficiency in your sub enclosure then in the amplifier.

[@TheGodofSEO]

Cool. Good power and price. Another competitor in the space is great for the consumer at that sub-$400 price point.

[@rendelltiller615]

Is it ok with this amp to see a quick clip flash on deep bass notes not consistently because of the 4000 watt burst rating. On certain songs and deep notes I get a super quick flash every now and then but noting gets hot or anything.

[@orlyb7497]

Hello Mr. Big D Wiz. Have you heard/seen the new Sound Qubed F series? I wonder how it stacks up against ds18 frp 3500? Thanks 👍🏼

[@steveclark9934]

I had the taramps smart 3K 2x15 evl in my previous build looking to do a little bit more this time I'm in the market for something preliminary planning stages going to go to 2x18 this time

[@leeeagle5994]

Beautifully Done

[@trollmode3863]

Nice little Amp

[@johntaylor8476]

I was wondering if you will be testing any of Orion’s new amplifiers ….like the xtr pro2300.1dx the xtr1000.4 and I would like see you test the updated 2500.1dz just to see if there is a difference between the 2500.1d and the 2500.1dz and they have a 3500.1dz and a 5500.1dz ….they have a host of other amps but these are the ones that I’m interested in seeing you do a test on.

[@392Quick]

Just searching for opinions… Does this amplifier heat up fast on stock electrical? Working with a 2019 Dodge Charger, 1 12 inch Skar VXF. I’m just trying to find a amp that doesn’t heat up so quick

[@lastalivex9342]

@@392Quick hey did you end up buying it i’m thinking about getting it just trying to see if it’s good

[@392Quick]

@ Nah I never purchased it. I ended up getting a XS Power battery and did a big 3 upgrade.

[@________GHOST________]

If this is not $150 I am not interested lol🤣🤣🤣

[@jackravan3242]

350

[@TheGodofSEO]

Ayeee, that’s my line 🤣

[@drrckhamilton]

Hmmm🤔

[@allmotorhash]

Gotta love chineesium

[@marcovaldovinos5009]

Exactly Ds18 better start paying attention to the comments 😂

[@ztronixz2236]

what driver chip did they used?

[@JustinGrosz]

I have a set of ds18 super tweeters. They absolutely scream!

[@cpufrost]

71% efficiency at 1OHM means running this full bore it's generating 1kW of heat! The heatsinks aren't going to be able to handle that, it will shut down or cook itself quickly! Fortunately most listening is very limited duty cycle so I suspect this will be fine. Those TINY fans aren't going to do much either. I suspect most bassheads or competitors would have a compartment stuffed with these along with a few bilge fans changing out the air... But yes, play the hell out of Techmaster PEB (old school boomer here, sorry) this puppy is gonna get HOT! (So will your voice coils LOL!) The power roll off at 40Hz is interesting. I wonder how much more it would roll off at 20Hz. For the $$$ TBH, it looks like a steal!

[@NerdyBassHead]

I would like to try the 5k If it gets too hot on bass it wouldn't hurt to run my front doors with this hp at 90 hz I bet this series can make u feel the vocals through your chest

[@cpufrost]

@@NerdyBassHead Yes front door is often overlooked, it adds a LOT of tight, snappy sound to bass string plucks and kick drums that you feel on stage.

[@chrisbordelon2782]

Nice ,lil budget compact amp to use inside the cab of SXS.

[@crandallexpo0648]

What about the efficiency

[@hardhead7056]

What was the point of 1.33ohm test? Thanks for the extra fun and footage. But i assumed that you were about to go just below 1ohm. 🤷‍♂️

[@kxn5644]

Hi Would it be possible if you could dyno the xtc cyclone 20000w

[@Bassotronics]

At first I thought it was a D4S amplifier. @ 2:41 Minnum? *Facepalm* This is not a Mickey Mouse program!

[@calvinevans8305]

11:44 1.33 ohm? Is this the same test? 😅

[@DRE-zn7kj]

Waiting to see a review of the Elektra a1100.5 ☺️

[@RedHammerBodyShop]

One of the companies need to let you design an amp Big D!!

[@JasonWW2000]

He's not an electrical engineer or an amp designer. He's just a fan of audio equipment like most of us.

[@RedHammerBodyShop]

@@JasonWW2000 Yeah no shit, but he's always got cons, so if he designed the amp by saying "change this to this, to an engineer, then it would be a damn near perfect amp. I tend to agree with him on 99% of the pros and cons. I didn't mean design it from a blank board up. Guess I should have said OVERSEE the design of an amp.

[@Hexa8]

KZbin link to the 🎵 you played ?

[@FangOfTruth]

I don’t have subs in my room but everything was rattling. It must have been bumping. Old Coral 3 ways with 8” (basket measurement) woofers is the speaker setup. Old JVC A-K10 stereo amplifier.

[@951258tike22]

Straight up comical seeing that tiny thing beat the heck outta something as massive as a quadbox!! glad class D tech still has so much to offer 💪

[@biggklown7644]

Hey Willston! Do u have any videos showing how to reconfigure a 24 cell Headway lithium battery using busbars? I'm a bit of a newbie/old school basshead. I've got a Skar EVL D2 15 with a Skar RP1200.1 monoblock amp. I'm fixin to upgrade to 0 gauge wire, but I'm still running a factory alternator. Can i kinda pick ur brain for sum help figuring out what all I need to do to get the full potential of my amp and sub? Please and thank u.

[@dkskario2980]

Can you test one of the soundigital EVO5 ? Doesn't matter what size

[@GoTellJesusSaves]

Q: Hey Big D! Have you seen the video by Savard Audio concerning using an amp that is rated no less than 2Xs the power rating of the subs? If so, what are your thoughts/experience on the matter? In the video the fella made the point that impedance rise causes the amp to see a load that's quite a bit higher than the ohm rating of the subs. So if you have a 1000W RMS sub wired at 1ohm, the amp will see a load that is more than 2 ohms when it's playing music, therefore you should use an amp that is rated for no less than 2000W RMS at 1 ohm. Would love to see a video where you test and prove this and share your thoughts on the matter. If this is true, I think it's definitely need to know info that would help a lot of people who come here to get info to make purchases of amps for their systems. Thanks for doing what you do! Your channel/content helped me in choosing a great amp for my setup. My system sounds tremendously better than before.

[@JasonWW2000]

2X or 3X is fine as long as you know how to control the power and not burn up your subs. I usually run three times the rated power, but I'm not a bass head so I don't really push my stuff to the Limit. If you're the kind of person that wants to squeeze out every bit of performance from whatever amplifier you have, you just need to find out what your real ohm load is and then match it up appropriately. Of course, when you're constantly maxing out your equipment you shouldn't expect it to last forever.

[@McTroyd]

Impedance is resistance, but at a specific frequency (or band of frequencies). The advertised impedance is often an average of a band of frequencies the speaker is expected to operate at. (Some unsavory speaker manufacturers might also cherry-pick the advertised impedance from idealized test results.) You'll need a specification sheet that shows the impedance curve, which will give you a graph of rated impedance vs. frequency. This will help you specify the amplifier to match that speaker up to. So, as a practical example: looking at the impedance curve, we learn our example woofer might have an impedance of 2 ohms at 40 Hz, but 6 ohms at 200 Hz. If this woofer is meant to be used as a subwoofer, and it won't ever see the 200 Hz frequency band, make your amplifier calculations assuming 2 ohms impedance. On the other hand, if this is a standard woofer to play musical bass frequencies, rather than shake the Earth, that woofer most likely _will_ see 200 Hz, but not 40 Hz. Calculate instead assuming 6 ohms impedance. Don't forget: the cabinet the speaker goes in will also have a profound impact on the efficiency of the speaker. Especially for subwoofers, watch for the tuned frequency of the cabinet. For my part, as a live & architectural sound engineer with 20+ years' experience, clipping will be your worst enemy where blowing speakers is concerned. I've seen drivers take 10x their rated power as a momentary transient (think "pop" or "pow") and survive without issue. But, if you drive a 40 Hz square wave into a subwoofer, even at less than rated power, you are likely to blow that woofer. When I put a system together, I usually target amplifiers that are 1.2x to 2x the rated power of the speakers in question, mostly to make sure I never hit clipping when I operate the drivers near their limit. (I will turn the amp down to meet the speaker's rated output.) This is probably _NOT_ a way to win SPL contests if that's what you're into. But, if you want reliability, no system I've designed/rigged/installed has blown a speaker in the time I've been doing this. Generally, since you're not pushing the amp all that hard, you'll get better fidelity and noise floor, too.

[@GoTellJesusSaves]

@@McTroyd Thanks for sharing the insight! Makes a lot of sense.

[@Chris-B-Bassin]

Worth it 👌

[@anthonybrown6143]

Is there any way you can test the NVX Audio XAD17 amplifier one day?

[@normalicy]

I can't believe they can pack that much power into that small of an amp. And it doesn't even get hot!

[@cyberflexx953]

I'd like to see you test the D'amore Engineering E1500.1 amp on your Dyno.. they are on Amazon.

[@Bassknots]

Ds18 came back strong

[@brandonc5965]

Would you sale the kicker 4 quad box with solo barics

[@scofab]

Ten cents a watt, that's not too bad at all. Thanks again and regards.

[@oscarmora3552]

Ds18 frx 2000.1?

[@ChannelZeroOne]

Is this similar to the Minimax, as in possible the same amp as JP's?

[@JasonWW2000]

No, this is completely different.

[@user-qj5cu2xj8t]

Would have liked to have seen a size comparison between this and a Down4Sound MM1500KFD

[@LingLing1337]

Wow they don’t provide those specs on the site? That’s shady.

[@bayramoglumurathan925]

Thanks.

[@Natetron1000]

Da daaa da daa Minnum Minnum. 😂 But on a serious note does 1khz wattage. So for full range it’s not bad. Big things in small packages is cool too. Nice product!!

[@shaner.5]

When has the manufacturer rating ever stopped you from going sub-ohm low? I come here to see the limits these amps can handle it's got a protection light, test it.

[@JasonWW2000]

The fact that he didn't test it probably indicates that the manufacturer warned him not to. I would rate it safe for an actual one ohm load, but no lower than that.

[@ZR2DAILY]

When u gonna test the memphis viv 2200.1?

[@danrimjob5546]

Big D , buddy I would love to see dyno on the (Stinger MT1000/5)

[@vonahn1]

Hey bud but you didn't go under 1homn you had the test at 1 and than at 1.3 I think you meant to do the test al .8

[@ganeshnarayan5505]

Thank you for your honest review.

[@StonerCreek74]

How different would the Car Audio industry have been if we could have gotten big power for pennies like is available today back in the late 80s & and 90s?

[@TheSara200424]

Holy Moses we are living in some incredible times 👽👽👽🤯🤯🤯

[@SmalltimR]

Very nice!

[@housepumpinpc3983]

I see if you look around, there are choices for amps. Prices are reasonable and power output high. Sizes are shrinking. Come a long way since the 70s.

[@JasonWW2000]

We can thank the modern semiconductor for this.

[@jdlech]

Sorry if I'm being a stickler here, but even if a full range amp is rated at 1KHz, it should not be far off its rated power at 40Hz. A significant difference suggests it handles full range poorly. If it can't be at least somewhat flat from 20Hz to 20KHz, then it's not something I would want. I mean, let's think about this. It's bad enough needing sub woofers to compensate for your woofers (which I get). But needing extra amps to compensate for your amp as well? Or needing equalization to compensate for your amp's shortcomings on top of everything else? Echhhh.

[@Pbull75]

@@jdlech most full-range apps are tested at 1 kilohertz. most of them do not hit the same power at 40 hertz.

[@jdlech]

@@Pbull75 Most home amps do. And all amps worth buying do. Your statement is equally about your lack of standards as theirs. If a home amp can't produce within 1db of rated power across the full spectrum, it's not worth buying. I'd give a car amp 2db only because of serious price point restrictions. period.

[@Pbull75]

@@jdlech we're not talking about home apps here. And I understand what you're saying. Go look at a bunch of tests on these full range amps no matter what brand. Most of them are tested at 1 kilohertz. Animals always at 40 hurts they're a little lower wattage.

[@Pbull75]

@@jdlech as for lack of standards. Come on. My audio system on my bike sounds better than 99 percent of these cars out here. I only mess with sound quality. I know about standard.

[@jdlech]

@@Pbull75 And yet you're perfectly OK with an amp that can't amplify consistently from 40Hz to 1KHz even into a purely resistive load. Who are you trying to fool here?

[@BASSstarlet]

All bass remotes are amp specific?

[@bobdodge3171]

Typically they are all wired the same. Depending on type of plug.. might be one or two brands that mix the wiring up.

[@JasonWW2000]

@@bobdodge3171 whoa whoa whoa. Don't be giving out misinformation. Just about every brand of amplifier I've seen has a different wiring for their bass knob. If you're foolish enough to try and mix and match different brands you can expect to burn up your amplifier.

[@floydwilliams3321]

It’s nice❤

[@jasa_3s_bossphilbert824]

Can we see a kicker zx2500.1 2011 model😢

[@Mr_BUSINESS_24_7]

Everything is monstrous about your set up.... ... except the amp. Is this a Brazilian design ? I assume ?

[@quevicular]

How in the hell did MINNUM pass QC???

[@wal]

I asked the same question. Apparently it was caught after the first run of production and wasn’t in the pre-production units.

[@bobdodge3171]

QC wrote it!

[@mikeywilcox2501]

QC is inventing core English

[@reganmorben9248]

Cool!

[@74midwestbass74]

👍👍

[@Doctorbasss]

3:00 ASMR 😂

[@ROCKNROLLMODS]

Bumpin so hard BigD did a hair trick.

[@ProkonsTechCenter]

TIny and Mighty :)

[@solarandwindinsouthtexasda1473]

How come you never have texted a high phonics generation X 650 watt Zeus

[@matthewelliott2213]

Big things come in small packages... wowsers...

[@aarongreene9963]

That amp will probably do more on a reactive load

[@msh6865]

@Dereck, a few years back I predicted in the comments section of one of your videos that very soon we would see a 1000 watt amp the size of your wallet. We're getting very close. 😁

[@AraceaeFanatics]

It's DS18, it is Mickey Mouse.

[@NavrangMedia-ee8nl]

Hello sir, a big fan of your content we can help you improvise it and take your views to the next level. Is this something worth a conversation